1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fabrication method for and the corresponding apparatus of a high voltage, low power transformer by which to efficiently fire a gas discharge lamp, such as that commonly utilized to form a luminous advertising display.
2. Prior Art
As will be known to those skilled in the art, gap discharge devices, such as, for example, a neon gas discharge lamp, or the like, typically include an associated power system comprising a transformer by which to fire and ignite the lamp. Frequently, a plurality of such gas discharge lamps are arranged to form a luminous display by which a vendor may advertise to passersby his goods or services. However, the conventional gas discharge power transformer is plagued by several shortcomings which limit both the application and flexibility of an advertising display to which the transformer is interconnected. More particularly, the prior art power transformer is typically characterized by a relatively large and cumbersome iron laminated core. Thus, the weight, size, and, accordingly, the cost of the prior art transformer are undesirably increased. Moreover, for low frequency operation, the large transformer core requires many wire turns for establishing the primary and secondary windings thereof. Of course, the time, cost, and raw materials required to manufacture a transformer having a large core and a multiplicity of wire turns are undesirably maximized.
Another difficulty which has been frequently encountered as a result of utilizing a conventional power transformer for driving a gas discharge lamp is poor power efficiency. That is, the conventional transformer is known to draw the same current and consume the same amount of power, whether or not a load is being driven thereby. Such current and power characteristics result from the nature of known constant current-type transformers which behave more like a shunt regulator than a series regulator.
In any event, the high cost, large size and weight, and poor energy efficiency disadvantageously limit the application and practicality of the conventional gas discharge power transformer in any gap discharge system where the conservation of cost, space, and energy are important considerations.